The only hard rule about the system is that there isn't any hard rule about the system. If you and the person you're role-playing with agree, Out Of Character, on something happening, or succeeding, or failing, or anything else, then that agreement trumps any policies laid out here. However, sometimes the roll of the dice can add a fun element of spice and risk to a scenario, or all players may not be in complete agreement about what they'd like the outcome of a particular situation to be. In those cases, chance is the fairest judge and the comparison of character stats can be useful to help decide rulings about who might get their way in a particular conflict.

You may have noticed that there isn't a roll command. That's because there's no rolling. We didn't even really want stats, but that is the reality in which we live. It's impossible to quantify a being with numbers in a world of endless possibilities, so we're trying our best not to. The numbers mean very little, and if they get in the way, by all means, throw them out. The only number you will have to keep track of is your sanity. If you run out, well, I hear the abyss is a wonderful place in the summer.

If players are in dispute about who can or cannot do what, you might ask a staff member to decide. If this happens, the ruling of the staff member may not be in your favor, but is to be considered final. Perhaps you're better off trying to resolve things amongst yourselves through role play.

Applauds are a way for players to publically recognize and congratulate other players for outstanding roleplaying within a scene. They are generally about a sentence long, and include either the particular facet which you thought was well played, or a cryptic reference to some important event within the scene. Type applaud <name>=<text> to applaud someone. See applaud #help for more information.

As you accumulate applauds, you may find yourself on the Top Ten list (see applaud #topten). In an effort to rotate the names on the top ten list and give newer players a chance to see their names in lights, players are strongly encouraged to bank their applauds when they reach fifty, by typing TA #bank. The text content of banked applauds will be lost (so save them to a text file, if you wish, before banking!), but the actual physical count will remain in the game system. You may check your total at any time by typing TA #check.

Applauds, whether banked or not, may be traded for various bonuses within the game. You may trade 10 applauds for one successful action (including mist handling, physical feats, or surviving certain death), 50 applauds for either a point of sanity or a point of mist, and 100 applauds for an increase in a stat (type sheet to see your current stats). Please type TA for more information on trading in your applauds, or see the forum post on the subject.